


I'll Be Home for Christmas

by SakuraKage



Category: Naruto
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-14
Updated: 2019-12-14
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:01:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21787927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SakuraKage/pseuds/SakuraKage
Summary: Tenten longs to celebrate their first Christmas together, but Neji is out on a mission.
Relationships: Hyuuga Neji & Tenten
Comments: 3
Kudos: 1





	I'll Be Home for Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Keroribbit during the NejiTen Server's Secret Santa.
> 
> Hello, this is my first time doing one of these, but I hope you enjoy this short fluff piece.  
> This fic isn't set in modern times, but it does reference modern Western Christmas traditions. So, it's still set in Ninja!Konoha, but it's got Christmas just plopped in. I know that Naruto is a Japanese anime, and that Tenten's character has Chinese influences, but I stuck with mostly American Christmas traditions, because that's what I knew. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

"Neji's out on a mission. He said it’s classified," Tenten explained, taking a sip of her fruity drink. 

"But he'll be back by tonight? To celebrate?" her friend clarified.

Silently, she shook her head. 

"But Christmas is your favorite holiday! And it's your first Christmas together! Neji has to be home for that!"

Tenten sighed at her friend's outburst and stirred her drink. "I knew what I signed up for as a kunoichi. You did, too." And as much as she missed him, she knew she could never love anyone who was not as dedicated to her country as she was. 

Her friend noticed her melancholy and sat down to cover Tenten's hands with theirs. "I know," they agreed quietly. 

"Right now, Konoha needs him more than I do," Tenten turned her gaze toward Hokage Mountain. "And I'd leave this moment if Konoha needed me, too."

Her friend smiled sadly and said, "As would I. Tenten, I would NEVER question your loyalty to Konoha. But it is not disloyal to miss him."

Tenten nodded, turning the words over in her mind, even as her friend mercifully changed the subject. And when she went home that night, as she put out the apples and hung up the stockings, she let herself miss him. The strong arms that always supported her. The kind heart that never forgot her. And the deep-piercing eyes that saw everything about her. 

And she couldn't bring herself to leave the front room, so she bundled up on the couch and prayed to every god she knew for his safety. Lying there in front of the Christmas tree, waiting for his arrival, reminded her of when she used to lie on the couch waiting for Santa. The tree was bare of gifts back then, too, as it is tonight. But back then, while she was sleeping, gifts would magically appear under the tree. No gifts will appear on this night, though, for she had already give him his present and he was not here to give her hers. 

"I know that your Gentle Fist doesn't lend itself to using weapons," Tenten had said, before he left on his top-secret mission. He turned to her with interest and was surprised by a bundle of senbon. "But your abilities do. Your eyes see so precisely, even down to the tenketsu, and should you ever not be able to use your Gentle Fist to attack, these should do the trick."

When Neji continued to look down at the wrapped set of senbon, face unreadable, Tenten had blundered on, "They just reminded me of you, and we were talking about rounding out our skillsets, and they're such a sharp and precise weapon, and so underestimated, just like you and ..." She was cut off when Neji whipped out one of the senbon and held it neatly against her lips, like it was shushing her. 

"Tenten." It was only her name, but she loved every single time he said it. "Tenten, thank you."

He had pulled her close for a kiss, and she knew, even if he never ever used them, that he would treasure them anyway. 

A loud clatter sounded outside, rousing Tenten from her fitful sleep. She rubbed at her eyes, realizing she had fallen asleep to her memories, and gasped as she made out the silhouette of a man doused in red at the door. Her sleepy mind stuttered, 'Santa,' for one second, but then he pitched forward and collapsed on the floor. Scrambling over to his side, she realized it was her Neji, home at last, robes drenched in the blood of his enemies. At least, she hoped it was their blood. Hoisting an arm around her shoulders, she dragged him to the tiled kitchen and checked him over. No gaping wounds, thank kami, so none of the blood was his. She changed his clothes, tucked him into her bed, and returned to the couch, falling into a dreamless sleep. 

* * *

"Tenten." Neji whispered in her ear, startling her awake. She bolted upright, almost crashing her head into his. "Whoa!" he shouted, catching her before she sprung off the couch in confusion. "Merry Christmas?"

Tenten gasped, clearly just now realizing what happened, and she crushed him into a hug. He gratefully embraced her, savoring the feel of her in his arms. But then she reared back and smacked him in the shoulder. "Hey!" he squawked. She turned her face to him, temper swirling in her eyes. 

"How dare you pull a stunt like that?" She yelled. "You barely made it through the door before you collapsed! You promised me you would take care of yourself!"

As she let her temper rage, he realized it was only the fear talking. The worry and the anxiety – he could see it in her eyes. He nodded in understanding and opened his arms again, welcoming her back into his embrace. She went willingly, and he whispered into her hair, "I did not mean to worry you. I promise, I did take care of myself. But I had to come see you. I knew how much this holiday meant to you." 

"There was so much blood," she mumbled into his shirt, her fingers tightening around the fabric. "I don't know what I would have done if ... Oh, I wish I could do medical ninjutsu. There was so much blood," she repeated. 

"And none of it was mine," he assured her, petting her hair. "Do not worry. In fact, quite a lot of the blood only got onto my shirt when I was retrieving my senbon."

"Your senbon?" she peered up at him curiously. He congratulated himself on successfully changing the subject. 

"Your gift to me. I found them much more useful than I would have expected," Neji admitted, and she glowed with pride. "Also, I was transporting something rather chakra-sensitive."

"Chakra-sensitive?" Her eyebrow wrinkled in confusion. 

"Your Christmas gift, Tenten." He smiled. 

She leaned back and narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't tell me that _you're_ my Christmas gift," she mock-accused, obviously preparing to tease him for being cheesy. 

"No, this is your gift." Neji produced a small scroll from his clothes. "I sought out Io1 after wrapping up my mission. He remembered you rather fondly."

She unrolled her present reverently. "Is this...?"

"Jidanda 2.0," Neji presented proudly. "With personalized modifications."

“No way,” she breathed. 

She began to activate the seal, but he hastily stopped her. "Uh, perhaps you should wait to open it at a Training Ground? It has retained its rather massive size." 

She snapped the scroll back up and tackled Neji into another hug. "Oh, Neji, it's perfect! I thought I would never see another weapon like that again."

Neji chuckled. "I am certain that Io would never turn away a visit. He seemed rather excited to hear what you might have to say about the modifications he made to Jidanda." 

She sat back and looked at him with an unreadable expression for a few moments. He silently returned her gaze, but he could not interpret it. He had grown accustomed to being able to read her at a glance, but for some reason, he could not guess what she was thinking at the moment. She seemed … melancholic? Nostalgic?

“I would have been okay without Jidanda, though,” she finally said. “As long as you came home to me, that’s all that matters.” _Ah, romantic._

“I will always come home to you,” he promised. 

“You better.” 

**Author's Note:**

> [1] Jidanda and Io are a reference to a filler episode (Naruto Shippuden Ep 184) where Tenten uses Jidanda (a faulty weapon invention by inventor Io) to absolutely massacre two randos who were overpowering Neji and Naruto (of all people) with some of Io's other prototypes. Io takes Jidanda back from Tenten to "make adjustments" but I like to think that they keep in touch and he gifts her more hilariously improbable weapons that she finds a way to use impressively. 
> 
> I always love poking at missions and loyalty to the village, and I had to restrain myself from derailing this fic. 
> 
> If you enjoyed this, please let me know what you thought!  
> Find me on [tumblr](https://cherryblossomshadow.tumblr.com) if you want to yell at me ^_^


End file.
